


Get Your Claws Out

by ScarletMelodies92



Series: Poisoned Farewells [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Civil War Team Iron Man, Dark Pepper Potts, Dark Rhodey, Dark Tony Stark, F/M, Implied/Referenced Character Death, No more shit will be taken, Not A Fix-It, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Salty as hell, Steve Rogers is not a good bro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-27
Updated: 2017-08-27
Packaged: 2018-12-20 03:22:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11912172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScarletMelodies92/pseuds/ScarletMelodies92
Summary: Tony's done playing around. He's not Fury's little 'team player' any more. It's time to reintroduce Tony fucking Stark to the world, and the world ain't ready for it.At least his true friends will back him up. After all, they're just as ruthless as he once was.





	Get Your Claws Out

**Author's Note:**

> Helllooooo, my lovelies!  
> I'm sorry. Couldn't resist.  
> Different Verse from Redemption and Revenge. Please, comments and kudos are my lifeblood. I may delete this, not sure yet.

  _I don't know what you had in mind,_

_But here we stand on opposing sides,_

_Let's go to war, let's go to war!_

_We arm ourselves with the wrongs we've done,_

_Name them off, one by one,_

_Let's go to war, let's go to war!_

_Everything you say,_

_Everything you do, you push it in,_

_And you cut me down, and you cut me down,_

_Screaming at the ones we love,_

_Like we forgot who we can trust,_

_Screaming at the top of our lungs,_

_On the grounds where we feel safe,_

_Do we feel safe?_

He was either too drunk, or not drunk enough. The world was blurring like an Impressionist painting, colours swirling bizarrely and he wasn't sure if it was day, or night, so he was going to take a wild guess and say he's had too much to drink. Far too much. Or maybe just enough.

He wondered could he stand up. Oh, there was a smashing sound. He didn't dare look down, for fear of throwing up, but he suspected he may have smashed the bottle he was holding. Sharp things were worming into his feet, just like the shrapnel in his chest. He giggled. The world swooped upwards, dizzingly, and he managed to totter forwards. One step, two step, three step, five step, and he was on the floor. No glass shards though. Yay.

Well, this was embarrassing,  _and_ pathetic. Never let it be said he couldn't multitask. Skilled in many areas, he was.

Ow. His cheeks were burning. Hot, red liquid running down them. Too hot. Better than the cold, though. He hated the cold. The icy cold ground he had been left on was a reminder of that. Cold, cold, cold like the glass bottle.

Tony Stark lay on the marble tiles of his tower, surrounded by bloodstained glass, spilt whiskey, and he laughed at the tears tracking down his face.

It was too fucking funny, that was what.

Too fucking hilarious.

He'd known it was coming for a good while, truth be told. Because it was just him, and a bottle, maybe more than one, so what was the point of lying? Even though that was what he was best at, according to his friends. Oh, wait, no, it was his  _friends_ who were best at lying, not him. Despite being a genius, it could get really confusing at times, with all the secrets, and the lies, and let's not forget the betrayals, those are fun too!

Anyway. He'd known it was coming, yet it still managed to surprise him. Amazing, that. Really difficult to pin down how that happened. Especially for someone drunk out of his mind.

It was amazing. He'd known they were going to leave, but when they left,  _it still hurt anyway._

That really wasn't fair. Not at all. He'd prepared for it, and steeled himself, hardened his heart so damn hard until it was practically made of the iron his armour was, and it still broke. Cheating bastards snook in, making their home in his metallic heart. It was easier to tear it apart from the inside. Infiltration. A certain spider and archer would know everything about that, he presumed. After all, wasn't that how he met a sneaky little spider in the first place? Embarrassing to fall for the same trick twice.

Fool me once, shame on me.

Yes, that had been humiliating. Really annoyed him at the time. But...

Fool me twice,  _shame on you._

That wasn't the saying. Was it? It should be.

He propped himself up with his elbows, ignoring the crunch of broken glass.

No. He was not taking the blame for this one.

In his mind's eye, he saw Stark Industries apologising time and time again. Saw  _him_ apologising time and time again. For things that wasn't his fault. 

New York. Paying for damages. Fair enough, he wanted to help. But SHIELD did nothing. Neither did the government. Not half as much as he did. Fury just sat back on his ass and assumed Tony's misplaced guilt would pay for it all.

Housing the Avengers, at great personal cost. Bruce thanked him, multiple times. Natasha, surprisingly, did once. Not a word from anyone else. 

Providing them with weapons. Again, great personal cost. Nary a word of gratitude.

Sokovia. Ultron. Yes, he was partly to blame. But Bruce? Scarlet Witch? Nobody remembered those people had a hand in it? The interface wasn't even ready! The sceptre had a consciousness, go heaven's sake! If you want to blame someone, blame Ultron himself! Did people prosecute the parents of an evil person? No! He hadn't even known Ultron for five minutes!

And finally, the Accords.

Oh, he didn't like this at all.

He had been played. By everyone. He had let himself grow soft, let him be dulled like a blade out of use. Or in too much use.

He had let his relationship with Pepper be ruined, practically abandoned Happy and SI, had neglected his friendship with Rhodey. Rhodey. How had he have allowed him to have gotten hurt? Dulled by sentimentality, that's how.

He should have ended Rogers and Barnes in Siberia. 

This would not do.

He was aware this was utterly bizarre. Drunk as he was, mind clouded by alcohol, and he was thinking more clearly than in years.

The Avengers weren't his family.

Pepper was. Rhodey was. Happy was. Jarvis was. Friday was. The bots were.

Hell, Mama was and Barnes  _killed_ her. Didn't that speak for itself?

Vision, Peter, Harley...they all had potential to be his family. They were good, they were kind, and they hadn't betrayed him. He cared for them, deeply. They had proved they wouldn't lie to him, or protect another friend at his cost.

What could have possibly possessed him to waste time elsewere?

Hmm. He really had let his priorities get mixed up.

Pushing himself to his feet, Tony stood shakily, ignoring the glass cutting into the soles of his feet. He stared at disgust at the alcohol pooling around him. This was not what he would be known for. No more drunkenness. Frankly, this was embarrassing. He was going to change, if it was the last thing he ever did.

Sleep first. He had neglected it for far too long, in pursuit of dreams. Dreams of a happy team, of an armour around his world, of friends he could trust. 

But that was all they were. Dreams. Dreams no longer worth pursuing.

Tony walked, still unsteadily, but a lot more confident than a few moments ago, over to the scruffy couch in his lab. He threw himself into it, sinking into cracked black leather that smelt comfortingly familiar.

He wanted his rightful revenge. But in his state, the painful truth was that even that Ant-guy could take him out, even without the shrinking suit.

Ah, yes. Now he remembered.  _That_ was why he had started drinking, originally. Tony had been wondering, what particular reason had pushed him over the edge, sending him spiralling into a bottle.

Dr Cho had visted. She had not come bearing good news.

His ribcage was totalled, teetering on the edge of collapse. Shoulders pretty much ruined, too, as well as some of his right arm and leg. The actual skin was hideous, white ridges of scar tissue winding over his chest. He had a couple of years at most (three), and that was with multiple costly operations. Needless to say, Iron Man was completely out of the question. Merely stepping inside a suit would cause his ribs to collapse inwards, crushing his organs. Siberia had not been good for his health, physically or mentally. Neither was a pair of enhanced soldiers bashing your chest in, oddly enough.

Dr Cho had suggested an alternative option. 

Tony was considering it.

Steve would have hated it. Bruce would have disapproved. Natasha would have drugged him into not doing it. Wanda possibly would have not cared, and just tried to kill him anyway.

A new strain of Extremis. Perfected by himself, Dr Cho, and surprisingly enough, a Dr Jane Foster.

It could fix everything as far back as the shrapnel, every injury, every scar. Could quite possibly add decades to his lifetime. Change his appearance. Make him tougher, faster. More... _powerful._

It could also change him into a human supercomputer, capable of hacking vaults at the other side of the world. He'd be as strong as a super-solider, if not stronger.

Yes, Steve would have hated it.

Tony didn't care.

~•~

"Hey, Peps."

_"Tony? You're alright! I was so worried, I thought...well, you're okay. You are okay, right?"_

Tony winced. Pepper could always wrap him around her finger. Seems like he'd been doing far too much of that these days, but he genuinely loved Pepper. What he was going to say next would hurt her.

"I'm out of hospital, Peps, but only because there's no point in keeping me there."

Pepper's voice was fearful, but she was struggling valiantly to hide it.

_"What are you saying, Tony?"_

Oh, Tony really didn't want to do this to Pepper. Not her, who he still loved.

He briskly gave a brief summary of Dr Cho's words, speaking quickly to avoid emotion in his words. Pepper knew him too well, though.

_"You have..."_

"Three years, max. I'm sorry, Peps."

She gave a choked sob, staticky over the long-distance connection.

_"No... "_

Tony broke in quickly, instinctively wanting to comfort her. "There is another option. But it's risky."

_"Do it."_

The sheer determination in her voice made him smile. That was Pepper to a T; a will of iron, and a heart of gold. Unless you annoyed her, of course.

"You know what it is, right? We're talking Extremis here, Peps. Will you support me on this? This is a big operation, and with Rhodey and the Spiderling to think of... "

_"I'm coming over."_

"Heh. Thanks, Peps. "

_"And then I will find, gut, and skin Rogers and use him for a new handbag."_

"Seems fair. I could help if you want."

There was a stunned silence, and then Pepper started to laugh. Tony heard her clapping her hands slowly as she cackled with mirth.

_"So you've finally woken up and smelt the roses. I did tell you, Tony, you put too much faith and trust in them. They were never worth it, darling. Never."_

"I'm realising that now."

_"Well, genius or no, you always were a little slow on the uptake in things like this."_

Tony gave a wry chuckle of his own. "I suppose. Like I warned you all those years ago, Peps. Machines are my thing, not people. I'm not good at noticing when people were bad for me. Case in point: my dear deceased godfather."

_" ...you have changed. Last time I mentioned Stane, you damn near had a panic attack. "_

"I remember. Much to the amusement of Barton."

_"Bastard. Anyway, Tony, if Extremis works, are you going to continue Iron Man?"_

There was a hopeful note in her voice, that Tony hated to quash, but unfortunately, there was only one answer.

"Yes. But this time, a little more unforgiving."

A heavy sigh came from her end of the phone. Tony quietly amused himself by imagining it rattling through the wi-fi connection, ridiculous as the idea was.

_"That'll do. Your mercy was going to get you killed. Not that mercy isn't good, I'm not saying go full Deadpool, but staking your life on it, as you had a tendency to do? I knew that would end badly."_

"As I recall, it did. Siberia. I could have blown them to high heaven at any moment, but I didn't. Conveniently for him, Rogers seems to have forgotten about that little fact."

_"Mmm. We shall remind him at the earliest possible opportunity. I'm sorry Tony, I have to go. I'll be over tomorrow. It's the earliest I can manage. Now, will that be all, Mr Stark?"_

"Clever. Yes, that will be all, Miss Potts."

_"One more thing. When I get back, we need to talk. About us."_

Tony's eyes widened. "Us? Are you saying? What are you saying?"

_"I'm not saying anything concrete, okay? Now I really have to go. Goodbye, Tony."_

"I prefer au revoir," Tony said flirtatiously.

Pepper giggled, and hung up. Tony looked up from tinkering with the prosthetics with a smile. That woman was really something special. Tony had known that ever since she used pepper spray on his heavily armed security guards just so she could talk to him. About a mathematical error he made that could have cost the company billions.

Something special, alright.

Now, what to do next?

"Friday?"

"Boss?"

"How's the public reacting to...recent events?"

Several holographic articles fizzled to life in front of Tony, each glowing a faint blue. Tony frowned as he skimmed through them, flicking through article after picture after post.

The results were...better than he could of hoped for. To Tony's shock, a lot of people seemed to be against Rogers, many ranting against him on social media, berating his actions against innocent civilians, and superheroes like the Vision, War Machine (never Iron Patriot) and even Iron Man. Obviously, there was still a lot of support for Rogers and his merry team of fugitives - the man was a national icon, after all - but people in general appeared to be on Tony's side, for once. Made a nice change. Tony hadn't been the most popular after Ultron, but this...this was nice. 

Tony charitably hoped that, wherever Steve was, it was a good enough place so that he had access to social media.

No way. He just wanted to imagine Rogers' reaction to people  _not_ worshipping his every move. Quite a shock to the system, he imagined. Rogers didn't know what it was like to be hated universally.

"Thanks, baby girl. Any luck on tracking down the elusive fugitives?"

"I'm afraid not, Boss. However, I do think that it may be possible to track Miss Romanov."

Tony cocked an eyebrow, interest piqued. "Oh? She's not running after Stevie-boy and Co.? Well, colour me surprised. Doesn't she know that practically every Shield agent is out for her blood?"

Friday seemed to smirk as she replied.

"After an estimate on Miss Romanov's approximate I.Q and mental capacities, I would say no, Boss."

 "Huh," said Tony, spinning around on his desk chair. "Huh. She's a dead woman then."

"I would agree, Boss."

"Oh well. Guess it's  _her_ ego causing her problems now. But you know what? I'll be nice. When you find her Friday, only post her location on the Dark Web. Don't send it to the news stations like I know you were originally planning to do. You know, for old time's sake."

"Like when she stabbed you in the neck?" Friday asked coldly. " _Those_ old times?"

 "Eh, neck's better than the back. Though she's done that too. Nevermind, you do what you want with the information."

"Of course, Boss."

"That's my girl."

 ~•~

"Tones!"

"Hi, honeybear."

Rhodey was in the gym, working on some leg exercises. His head was beaded with sweat, and Tony hated that he had to work so hard to do something most people wouldn't think twice about. Yet another thing Rogers' team had to pay for. The list was really adding up. Tony only hoped - for their sake's - they'd be able to pay his price.

"How's the legs?"

 Rhodey stopped with a huff and turned to look at Tony, a sad smile on his face. "Not too bad, actually. I will be able to walk again, thank god, but...the operation's expensive, Tony.  _Really_ expensive-"

Tony waved him off. "Anything, honeybear. Anything. You wouldn't even have been in the air if it wasn't for me."

 "No, Tony, that's not true. It was Rogers' fault-"

 "Yes. It was Rogers' fault. And Wilson's, really. And they will regret it, trust me. But you were still there because I asked you, and I'm sorry. But even so, I know who's to blame."

 Rhodey blinked at him, nonplussed. Then he started to grin. "And there's the Tony Stark I know and love. I thought you'd gone from us completely."

"Nope. I tried being Fury's little 'team player' for too damn long, honeybear. This time, they're dealing with Tony Fuckin' Stark, unapologetically pissed."

Rhodey chuckled. "Believe me buddy, they won't know what hit 'em."

"Nope!" Tony agreed brightly. "That's the plan. Oh, and guess what?"

"What?"

 "Your braces! They're finished! They'll do until I can set up the operation. We'll need the very best surgeons...they'll need to be over anyway because of Extremis..."

"Run that by me again?" Rhodey asked, suddenly sharp.

 Tony hesitated. "Ah. Yes. Well, you do know what happened in Siberia, right?"

 ...

 " _I'm gonna fuckin' kill that sonofabitch!"_

"Okay, easy, buddy," Tony said placatingly, trying to soothe his enraged best friend. "It's okay."

"No! There is no fuckin' way that's okay! I swear, I am gonna  _end_ that...that patriotic asshole!"

Tony laughed quietly. "Two things, honeybear. First of all, you'll have to get in line, Pepper wants a shot first. Second, we have no idea where he is. Any of them, actually, but Friday's currently looking for Romanov."

Rhodey scowled. "Still, Tones, it's not fair. You survive so much, and now because of... _Rogers..._ you only have a few years unless you use Extremis. Are you in pain right now?"

A year ago he would have denied it, convinced it didn't matter as much, or even that he deserved it. "Yes, actually. It's manageable for the moment, but I'm not running any marathons."

Tony watched a furrow grow between Rhodey's eyebrows, and hastened to add: "I'm gonna go get some painkillers in a minute."

Rhodey snorted.

"I really am."

"Okay, then," Rhodey said dubiously.

"Great! Anyway, your braces are in the lab. Come down whenever you can, and I'll fit them on. Gotta go."

And with that, Tony whirled around and left the gym, but not before snapping an abandoned arrow under his foot as he left.

~•~

Tony waited inside the Compound's reception, slightly nervous. He could see the crowds of paparazzi, reporters, and journalists outside the doors, a throbbing sea of people pushing and shoving, desperate for a good story. And one thing Tony Stark had always provided them with was a good story.

A sleek black car pulled up. Happy. So the man came after all, even with Tony practically ignoring him for months, now. Well, the man was as loyal as you can get without being a St. Bernard, so it honestly wasn't surprising. Still, it brought a smile to the billionaire's face.

_3...2...1..._

Showtime.

Tony swept open the doors, broad-shouldered security at his side, and the crowds erupted.

"Mr Stark, what do you say to the allegations that you deliberately tore apart the Avengers?"

"What do you think of the rogue Avengers now?"

"Mr Stark, do you know where the Avengers are now?"

"Is it true that Captain America attacked you?"

"Mr Stark! What happened in Siberia?"

What happened in Siberia. That was the question everyone wanted the answer to, wasn't it?

Well, if they wanted answers, he'd give them answers.

Better yet, he'd give them the  _truth._ Whether they liked the truth, or not.

He swanned through the crowd, head held high, smiling graciously at the yelling swarm barely held back by the security forces. His sunglasses were firmly fixed on his face, as was his smile, but even so, the camera flashes were near blinding. A very large turnout, even for him. He was flattered, really.

Happy was there, dressed in a suit carefully chosen; not as smart as Tony's own, but still pretty damn expensive. He reached for the door, but Tony beat him to it, pulling open the door with a tug, ignoring the twinge of pain in his chest. He slid gratefully into the cool interior, slamming the door. The yells cut off abruptly, and Happy started driving immediately.

"Where to, Boss?"

"Wait! I just...I wanted to say..."

 "Yes, Boss?"

"I'm sorry, Happy."

Happy slammed the brakes.

"Happy! What are you-!"

"I don't accept."

"What?"

Happy pulled over neatly, and turned to look at the billionaire.

" _I said,_ I don't accept your apology."

 "Whu?"

 "I am so godamn sick of watching you apologise for things that aren't your fault, so if I hear you say  _one_ more fecking 'sorry' from the back, there, then I will punch you, so help me."

Tony blinked. Happy resumed driving, going unusually fast.

"You...you have been bottling that up for a while, haven't you?"

 "Yes."

 "Damn. Remind me not to piss you off."

 "Far, far,  _far,_ too late, Boss."

Tony snorted, shaking his head in amusement. "I missed you, Happy."

 "I couldn't say the same, Boss."

Tony outright laughed, sunglasses sliding down his nose. "You charmer. Anyway, I've decided where we're going."

 "And?"

 "I'm going to call Pepper, tell her to organise a press conference. But first, I'm getting burgers."

"I'm getting a sense of deja vu, Boss."

"You and me both, Happy."

 ~•~

"You may be wondering why I have called a press conference," Tony Stark said to the sea of silent faces. "For my part, I'm wondering why so much more of you have turned up today than my last press conference. Did you miss me?"

There was a ripple of laughter through the crowd and Tony smirked. Success.

"Nah, I'm just kidding. I know why you're here." 

Tony paused. Took a breath.

Looked up and smiled.

"You're here because you want to know what happened during the Civil War."

You could have heard a pin drop.

"You know some of it. But trust me, nobody present here today knows the full story. Excepting yours truly. But I am ready to tell you what happened."

 In. Out. In. Out.

 "James Barnes, a dear friend of Steve Rogers, who was previously thought to be dead, was actually kidnapped by Hydra, and brainwashed into being a deadly assassin, known as the Winter Solider. Rogers enlisted my help in tracking him down, and I happily obliged, glad to help a friend.

Then, the Sokovian Accords were introduced to the mix.

I agreed with them. I think that superheroes need accountability, that we need to be governed by laws, same as everyone else. I was fully aware that the Avengers Initiative was scaring people, and after separating from Shield, we were just doing our own thing. We had good intentions, the best of intentions, but that wasn't enough.

The Accords as they were? Weren't perfect. Definitely not. They were unfairly biased against superheroes in general, thanks to certain members of the government involved in their creation, but they had the right idea. The deal was, if we signed, we could have a hand in editing the Accords for the better. Compromising. This seemed fair to me, so I signed.

Rogers...Rogers didn't agree with that. He claimed that signing would enable the government to use the Avengers as their own private 'task force', which seems like a reasonable concern. Until you actually read the bloody thing."

A low rumble of laughter once more, a little darker this time.

"Even unedited, we had plenty of leeway. Plenty. But Rogers stuck to his guns, and later I found out why. It was to protect Barnes, because the Accords may have had him arrested.

Now, I appreciate loyalty. But whether Rogers liked it or not, Barnes had killed people. He had to stand trial, a fair one, where Hydra's brainwashing would be taken into account. He could have received therapy, help from professionals. Rogers refused and went on the run, along with Barton, who he dragged out of retirement, Maximoff, Wilson, and a man called Scott Lang. I didn't know who he was either.

We fought at the airport. I fought alongside the Black Panther, the Black Widow, Spiderman, War Machine, and the Vision. I offered Rogers a deal. The past 24 hours would be forgotten, Barnes would be pardoned, if he just signed the Accords. Rogers responded by attacking, and a lot of damage ensued. War Machine was...was shot out of the sky. My best friend may never walk again, due to spinal trauma."

Tony swallowed painfully as he spoke, genuine emotion swelling in his chest, and he saw looks of pity and compassion from some of the upturned faces.He

"Rogers continued running, after Romanov let them go, but Barton, Maximoff, Lang were captured, and sent to the Raft illegally by General Ross. Without a trial. I was unaware of this until very recently.

I asked Wilson were Rogers was going. Then I followed him to a Hydra bunker in Siberia, where five other Winter Soldiers were. They were already dead, killed by Zemo. I came to offer help, but instead, I was shown a video.

The video was taken by traffic camera, the night my parents died."

Mutters began to spread through the crowd of otherwise hushed reporters.

"The video depicted the Winter Soldier, James Barnes, murdering Howard and Maria Stark."

The room exploded with shouts and screams, and Tony held a hand up for silence.

"I'm not finished.

When the video played, I asked Rogers if he knew. If he had known his best friend, who I had helped at great personal cost to track down, killed my mother and father.

He knew for years, and never told me.

We fought. I shot off Barnes' metal arm, but they got the better of me, Rogers destroyed my arc reactor, and left me in Siberia with a dead suit. He also left his shield."

Tony smiled bitterly.

"I was stuck there for hours until the Vision found me. Yes, I had extensive injuries. Stark Industries will be releasing a medical report and several videos as evidence. Yes, I will be pressing charges. As will War Machine and the Vision."

Tony straightened.

"I will not be taking questions."

He walked off the podium, the thuds of his classy leather shoes echoing in his ears, along with his racing heartbeat.

~•~

 "Mr Stark?"

 Tony whirled, startled. He broke into a smile. "Peps!"

 She looked lovely, a vision in a semi-formal white dress.

"You did really well at the press conference today. I do wish you had taken questions though, but I understand why you didn't."

 Tony pursed his lips. "I'm sorry, Peps, I just couldn't. Mama-"

She embraced him tightly. "It's okay. I know, I know. You did the right thing, Tony, I'm so proud of you."

"I missed you," he whispered into her hair. It smelt of cinnamon.

She pulled back to smile at him. "I missed you, too. It wasn't fair of me to leave."

He winced. "Not really, no."

Her smile turned sad. "I know. I'm sorry."

 "It's okay."

 She hummed doubtfully. "Will I make it up to you if I bring Rogers' head on a silver platter?"

Tony smirked, and dipped Pepper, ignoring her squeal of shock. "That would be lovely."

She grinned, sharp white teeth showing. "There's Tony Stark. I missed him most of all."

He kissed her. She kissed him back.

Tony pulled her upright. "You know, they say behind every great man, there's a woman."

Pepper shrugged. "They're not wrong."

"I wonder how nobody realised you were behind the Merchant Of Death."

"Well, that's hardly fair," Pepper admonished. "You know I don't advocate killing innocents."

Tony shrugged in turn. "Me neither. But you were always more happy with the idea of me being more of an anti-hero."

"I care about  _you,_ Tony. Seeing you being worn down by the Avengers was unbearable. You wouldn't hear a word against them."

"Well, Pepper, I am a hero now. I signed the Accords."

 She sighed, and rolled her eyes. " _Fine._ But if you just let me go after Rogers- I mean, I have Extremis!"

"Peps, please. I don't have anything against it on principle, but I really don't want you to be arrested."

"But you let Rhodey take care of Hammer!"

"Peps, darling, the world  _hates_ Rogers. Trust me, that'll kill him more than anything we could do."

"I knew they called you genius for a reason."

~•~

"Rogers!"

Iron Man landed in front of the ExVengers, suit painted a shiny black and darker red.

"Pleasure to see you here, really," Tony said, flipping his faceplate up. The genius' eyes were a solid orange, and his skin seemed to look like molten lava.

"Stark. Let us go. You can't beat all of us."

 Barton laughed. "Yeah. Even Steve and Bucky were enough to beat you up back in Siberia!"

Wilson looked on disapprovingly. "Yeah, that's low, man. Attacking a brainwashed dude?"

Maximoff stepped forwards, hands glowing scarlet, and spat, "What can you expect from a murderer and a liar?"

Tony chuckled. "Wow, that was impressive. Did you script that, or something?"

 "Stand down, Stark," Rogers said. "You don't want to do this."

 "Oh, but I do. I really, really do. And so do they."

 A second Iron Man suit flew down to land beside Tony, except built for a female figure. The faceplate flipped up to reveal Pepper.

 "Miss Potts?" Steve said in disbelief.

Pepper bowed. "It's Ms Stark, actually."

"Congratulations?" asked Lang, sounding unsure. Barton snorted.

War Machine thudded down on Tony's left. Unlike Tony and Pepper, he did not flip up his faceplate. "Hello, Wilson."

Wilson gulped, and shifted nervously.

"You can't just armour up all your friends, Tony. You'll get them killed," Rogers said reprovingly.

Tony grinned. 

A thick white web wrapped itself around Rogers' ankles. Spider-Man somersaulted over to perch on a beam hanging out of the rubble. He waved. "Hey, guys."

Lang waved back. Maximoff smacked his arm down.

Vision phased through a fallen pillar of the building. "Greetings."

"Viz?" asked Maximoff hopefully, lowering her hands. Vision looked at her, briefly, and looked away. Maximoff's face fell, then contorted with rage, sparks growing between her fingers. Spider-Man effortlessly webbed them together, and Maximoff screamed at him.

It was rather amusing. Even Barton looked surprised.

"Spider-Man, stop. Please, you don't know which side's in the right, here."

Tony interrupted. "Huh, that's funny. Assuming the Spider can't think for himself, are we?"

Rogers spluttered.

"You know," said Pepper thoughtfully, "Speaking of spiders..." He

Rhodey caught on immediately. "Oh, yes. I was saddened to hear of the unfortunate demise of one recently..."

"Natasha! What did you bastards  _do?!"_

Vision floated closer. "We did nothing. However, I cannot say the same for some disgruntled Shield Agents. I believe their families had been killed, as a direct result of the Shield Information drop. Stark Industries sent their most sincere condolences, of course."

"Yeah. I don't like to hear of families being killed. Which is why I saved yours, Barton."

 Barton gaped. "What?!"

"Ross sent a kill squad to your farmhouse. Fortunately, I anticipated that. They're safe."

"Why would you save them and not Nat? Why?!"

"Okay, first of all; you're welcome for saving your family. Second of all, Friday was pissed at Nat. Third, we arrived too late to save her."

There was a stunned silence.

"I'm gonna kill you, Stark," growled Barton, knocking an arrow. Rogers clenched his fists. Wilson's wings flared.

Faceplates slid down. Repulsors started to whine.

"Give it your best shot," smirked Iron Man.

He didn't miss this time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Song: Go to War, Eleven Seven Music


End file.
